Craig Daily Press

Courtesy Photo

Crews haul out old lockers during the weekend at Craig Middle School. Workers cleaned out the building in preparation for demolition.

Impending demolition of the existing Craig Middle School elicits conflicting emotions for Craig Middle School secretary Beth Gilchrist.

“We’ve all been a little melancholy,” she said, speaking on behalf of other middle school staff members.

Nonetheless, she said she sees hope on the horizon.

“I’m excited (with) what we’re going to get out of the deal,” she said.

On Monday, crews began making preparations to tear down most of the existing building to make way for a new facility, which will be built around the existing gym, auditorium and industrial arts complex.

Asbestos removal is under way in the building, said Doug Young, The Neenan Company project superintendent.

Meanwhile, workers are scheduled to begin cutting the building pad for the new middle school’s southern wing today, he said.

He estimated that if the project remains on schedule, building demolition will begin June 10.

The latter step spells out the last chapter for a building that has housed Moffat County students for 60 years.

The building first opened as Moffat County High School in 1948, according to the Museum of Northwest Colorado.

Upon completion of the existing high school in 1981, the building was converted into a middle school housing the district’s seventh- and eighth-grade students, according to museum records.

During the 2009-10 school year, however, that configuration is scheduled to change. Once the new middle school is completed, it will contain sixth-, seventh- and eighth- graders. Craig Intermediate School, where fifth- and sixth-graders now are enrolled, will become the district’s fourth elementary school.

A former student and current staff members have different feelings about the middle school building’s demolition.

“It will be exciting to get a new building,” said Susan Spencer, registrar and class scheduler for the district’s middle and intermediate schools.

Spencer said she is looking forward to the upcoming grade configuration, adding that housing sixth- through eighth-graders at the new middle school will benefit both students and teachers.

Gilchrist, who has been em­­ployed in the middle school for almost 10 years, thinks the time has come for a new middle school.

Some classrooms at the existing building contain only one electrical outlet, she said — an aspect that reveals the facility’s age.

Gilchrist said construction of a new middle school has been “very, very overdue.”

Craig resident Pam Foster, however, differs.

“Absolutely,” Foster said when asked if the region would lose a piece of history when the building is torn down.

Foster is a board member on the Community Foundation of Northwest Colorado, an area group committed to safeguarding historic places. However, her interest in the existing middle school building extends beyond her interest in Moffat County landmarks.

In 1960, when the facility still served as the district’s high school, she walked away from the building with diploma in hand.

“I do know that it did need to be upgraded,” she said, “just because all buildings need to be upgraded.”

All the same, Foster said she’s not convinced a complete demolition of the middle school is necessary.

“I’m still not sure what we’re accomplishing,” she said.

Foster recently took a tour of the building. Based on her observations, she said she believes the facility is structurally secure.

“There were no cracks,” she said. “Everything is as sound as a bell.”

Bridget Manley can be reached at 875-1795 or bmanley@craigdailypress.com